Muhammad in Islam

In Islam, Muhammad is venerated as the Seal of the Prophets who transmitted the eternal word of God from the angel Gabriel to humans and jinn. Muslims believe that the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, was revealed to Muhammad by God, and that Muhammad was sent to guide people to Islam, which is believed not to be a separate religion, but the unaltered original faith of mankind, and believed to have been shared by previous prophets including Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. The religious, social, and political tenets that Muhammad established with the Quran became the foundation of Islam and the Muslim world.
According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad was sent to the Arabic community to deliver them from their immorality. Receiving his first revelation at age 40 in a cave called Hira in Mecca, he started to preach the oneness of God in order to stamp out idolatry of pre-Islamic Arabia. This led to opposition by the Meccans, with Abu Lahab and Abu Jahl as the most famous enemies of Muhammad in Islamic tradition. This led to persecution of Muhammad and his Muslim followers who fled to Medina, an event known as the Hijrah, until Muhammad returned to fight the idolaters of Mecca, culminating in the semi-legendary Battle of Badr, conceived in Islamic tradition not only to be a battle between the Muslims and pre-Islamic polytheists, but also between the angels on Muhammad's side against the jinn and false deities siding with the Meccans. After victory, Muhammad is believed to have cleansed Arabia from polytheism and advised his followers to renounce idolatry for the sake of the unity of God.
As manifestation of God's guidance and example of renouncing idolatry, Muhammad is understood as an exemplary role-model in regards of virtue, spirituality, and moral excellence. His spirituality is considered to be expressed by his journey through the seven heavens. His behaviour and advice became known as the Sunnah, which forms the practical application of Muhammad's teachings. Muhammad is venerated by several titles and names. As an act of respect and a form of greetings, Muslims follow the name of Muhammad by the Arabic benediction,, sometimes abbreviated as "SAW" or "PBUH". Muslims often refer to Muhammad as "Prophet Muhammad", or just "The Prophet" or "The Messenger", and regard him as the greatest of all Prophets.

In the Quran

Muhammad is mentioned by name four times in the Quran. The Quran reveals little about Muhammad's early life or other biographic details, but it talks about his prophetic mission, his moral excellence, and theological issues regarding Muhammad. According to the Quran, Muhammad is the last in a chain of prophets sent by God. Throughout the Quran, Muhammad is referred to as "Messenger", "Messenger of God", and "Prophet". Other terms are used, including "Warner", "bearer of glad tidings", and the "one who invites people to a Single God". The Quran asserts that Muhammad was a man who possessed the highest moral excellence, and that God made him a good example or a "goodly model" for Muslims to follow. In several verses, the Quran explains Muhammad's relation to humanity. According to the Quran, God sent Muhammad with truth, and as a blessing to the whole world.
According to Islamic tradition, Surah refers to the command of the angel to Muhammad to recite the Quran. Surah is believed to be a reference to Muhammad's journey, which tradition elaborates extensively upon, meeting angels and previous prophets in heaven. Surah is seen as a reference to Muhammad and a companion hiding from their Meccan persecutors in a cave. Surah is believed to remind the audience of the foretelling of Muhammad by Jesus. This verse was also used by early Arab Muslims to claim legitimacy for their new faith in the existing religious traditions.

Names and titles of praise

Muhammad is often referenced with these titles of praise or epithet:

an-Nabi, 'the Prophet'
ar-Rasul, 'the Messenger'
al-Habeeb, 'the beloved'
al-Muṣṭafa, 'the chosen one' ;
al-Amin, 'the trustworthy'
as-Sadiq, 'the honest'
al-Haq, 'the truthful'
ar-Rauf, 'the kind'
‘alā khuluq ‘aẓīm, 'on an exalted standard of character'
al-Insan al-Kamil, 'the perfect man'
Uswah Ḥasan, 'good example'
al-Khatim an-Nabiyin, 'the seal of the prophets'
ar-Rahmatul lil 'alameen, 'mercy of all the worlds'
as-Shaheed, 'the witness'
al-Mubashir, 'the bearer of good tidings'
an-Nathir, 'the warner'
al-Mudhakkir, 'the reminder'
ad-Da'i, 'the one who calls '
al-Bashir, 'the announcer'
an-Noor, 'the light personified'
as-Siraj-un-Munir, 'the light-giving lamp'
al-Kareem, 'the noble'
an-Nimatullah, 'the divine favour'
al-Muzzammil, 'the wrapped'
al-Muddathir, 'the shrouded'
al-'Aqib, 'the last '
al-Mutawakkil, 'the one who puts his trust '
al-Kutham, 'the generous one’
al-Mahi, 'the eraser '
al-Muqaffi, 'the one who followed '
an-Nabiyyu at-Tawbah, 'the prophet of penitence’
al-Fatih, 'the opener'
al-Hashir, 'the gatherer on the day of judgement'
as-Shafe'e, 'the intercessor'
al-Mushaffaun, 'the one whose intercession shall be granted'.

He also has these names:

Abu'l-Qasim, "father of Qasim";
Ahmad, "the Praised one" ;
Hamid, "praiser";
Mahmood, "praiseworthy";
'Abd-Allah, "servant of God".
Overview

In Muslim tradition, Muhammad is believed to have had otherworldly features, such as being physically illuminated. As reported by Bukhari, whenever Muhammad entered darkness, light was shining around him like moonlight. Muhammad is further described as having a radiant face. As such, Muhammad is believed to reflect God's names of "mercy" and "guidance", as opposed to Satan, who reflects "wrath" and "pride".
Though according to tradition, Muhammad has said that he is just an ordinary human, several miracles are said to have been performed by him. To the Quran statement, as a reminder of Muhammad's human nature "I am only a human being like you", Muslims responded: "True, but like a ruby among stones.", pointing at the outward resemblance of Muhammad to an ordinary human but inwardly carrying the Divine Light.
In post-Quranic times, some Muslims view Muhammad merely as a warner of God's judgement and not a miracle worker. According to one account of Muhammad, the Quran is the only miracle Muhammad has been bestowed with.

Final prophet

Muhammad is regarded as the final messenger and prophet by all the main branches of Islam who was sent by God to guide humanity to the right way. The Quran uses the designation Khatam an-Nabiyyin '', which is translated as Seal of the Prophets. The title is generally regarded by Muslims as meaning that Muhammad is the last in the series of prophets beginning with Adam. Believing Muhammad is the last prophet is a fundamental belief, shared by both Sunni and Shi'i theology.
Although Muhammad is considered to be the last prophet sent, he is supposed to be the first prophet to be created. In Sunni Islam, it is attributed to Al-Tirmidhi, that when Muhammad was asked, when his prophethood started, he answered: "When Adam was between the spirit and the body". A more popular but less authenticated version states "when Adam was between water and mud." As recorded by Ibn Sa'd, Qatada ibn Di'ama quoted Muhammad: "I was the first human in creation and I am the last one on resurrection".

According to a Shia tradition, not only Muhammad, but also Ali preceded the creation of Adam. Accordingly, after the angels prostrated themselves before Adam, God ordered Adam to look at the Throne of God. Then he saw the radiant body of Muhammad and his family. When Adam was in heaven, he read the Shahada inscribed on the throne of God, which also mentioned Ali in Shia tradition.

Muslim philosophy and rationalism

attempts to offer scientific explanations for prophecies. Such philosophical theories may also have been used to legitimize Muhammad as a lawgiver and a statesman. Muhammad was identified by some Islamic scholars with the Platonic logos, due to the belief in his pre-existence.
Integrating translations of Aristotelian philosophy into early Islamic philosophy, al-Farabi accepted the existence of various celestial intellects. Already in early Neo-Platonic commentaries on Aristotle, these intellects have been compared to light. Al-Fabari depicted the passive intellect of the individual human as receiving universal concepts from the celestial active intellect. Only when the individual intellect is in conjunction with the active intellect, it is able to receive the thoughts of the active intellect in its own mental capacities. A distinction is made between prophecy and revelation, the latter being passed down directly to the imaginative faculties of the individual. He explained Muhammad's prophetic abilities through this epistemilogical model, which was adopted and elaborated on by later Muslim scholars, such as Avicenna, al-Ghazali, and ibn Arabi.

The Sufi tradition of ibn Arabi expanded upon the idea of Muhammad's pre-existence, combined with rationalistic theory. Qunawi identifies Muhammad with the pen, which was ordered by God to write down everything what will exist and happen. Despite some resemblance of the Christian doctrine of the pre-existence of Christ, Islam always depicts Muhammad as a created being and never as part or a person within God.

Morality and Sunnah

Muslims believe that Muhammad was the possessor of moral virtues at the highest level, and was a man of moral excellence. He represented the 'prototype of human perfection' and was the best among God's creations. Consequently, to the Muslims, his life and character are an excellent example to be emulated both at social and spiritual levels. The virtues that characterize him are modesty and humility, forgiveness and generosity, honesty, justice, patience, and self-denial. Muslim biographers of Muhammad in their books have shed much light on the moral character of Muhammad. In addition, there is a genre of biography that approaches his life by focusing on his moral qualities rather than discussing the external affairs of his life. These scholars note he maintained honesty and justice in his deeds.
In Muslim legal and religious thought, Muhammad, inspired by God to act wisely and in accordance with his will, provides an example that complements God's revelation as expressed in the Quran; and his actions and sayings – known as Sunnah – are a model for Muslim conduct. The Sunnah can be defined as "the actions, decisions, and practices that Muhammad approved, allowed, or condoned". It also includes Muhammad's confirmation to someone's particular action or manner which, when communicated to Muhammad, was generally approved by him. The Sunnah, as recorded in the Hadith literature, encompasses everyday activities related to men's domestic, social, economic, and political life. It addresses a broad array of activities and Islamic beliefs ranging from the simple practices, like the proper way of entering a mosque and private cleanliness, to questions involving the love between God and humans. The Sunnah of Muhammad serves as a model for Muslims to shape their lives in that standard. The Quran tells the believers to offer prayer, fast, perform pilgrimage, and pay Zakat, but it was Muhammad who practically taught the believers how to perform all these.